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ChapterThirty
I stared out of my window at the beautiful snow-covered Prague day. Maybe for the last time. Well, at least the last time for a while. Prague didn’t seem like it was going to be on my frequent travel list. As though to say goodbye, a cluster of little birds flew to the windowsill and offered me a brief song. I smiled and waved, hoping they could generally understand the gesture.
I stepped back into my room and began to pack my things. I hadn’t brought much with me, but I felt like I was taking so much more back with me. At least metaphorically speaking. To say that these last few weeks have been transformative would be an incredibly shameful understatement.
A knock at the door startled me from my daydreaming. I imagined it was housekeeping coming to see if there was any assistance I needed.
I opened the door, feeling the weight of melancholy. I sucked in a breath when I saw it wasn’t housekeeping but Ondrej.
“Oh, hi. I didn’t expect you,” I said. Things had been so strange between us. We’d been so close, then pushed apart by everything that had transpired. The connection we’d formed felt shattered.
Ondrej rubbed the back of his head nervously. He was dressed casually in a black crewneck sweater and dark jeans over Adidas sneakers. He was unshaven, and his hair was a little unkempt. He looked tired. I didn’t blame him. I imagine no one had slept much since the fire.
“So you’re really leaving,” he said, more of a statement than a question. I instinctively glanced back into the room where my suitcase lay open on the bed. I turned back to him. “Unfortunately. I think it’s best all-around anyway, isn’t it? There’s nothing really left for me here.”
“Isn’t there?” There was a slight uptick in his voice that gave me a breath's worth of hope. I blew it away. The time for hoping for anything was over.
I shook my head slowly. “I think I’ve made enough of a mess here. I should probably go while the hotel at least still has a foundation to stand on.”
His lips turned up in a half-smile half-grimace. “I’m not sure it will for long. Once Greta Wolf gets her hands on it. Or should I say claws?”
I laughed at the weak joke.
“I do wish I could stay a little longer. It’s been an amazing few weeks, but the truth is, I feel like I’ve only nipped the surface of what Prague is. I want to know the city more.”
I want to know you more,I thought but didn’t say. What good would empty confessions do?
“There is so much of her to know. She’s a city full of ancient mysteries, and hidden corridors even I don’t know about. I wish I could show them to you. I wish we could discover them together.”
My eyes shot up at the statement. For a moment, we were locked in a standstill.
“Ondrej,” the words caught in my throat. I didn’t even know what I wanted to say. What was there to say? I felt like words were only going to make things worse.
“It’s OK. You don’t have to say anything.”
“If you’re ever in Los Angeles, you should look me up.”
“Yeah, maybe I will. And, well, if you’ve ever in Prague again for some random reason, you know where—well, actually, I don’t know how to finish that sentence. I was going to say you’ll know where to find me. But that’s not true, is it? Because I won’t be here. I don’t know where I’ll be.”
His stoic resolve cracked just enough for me to see the brittle fragments beneath the surface of his icy façade.
“I’m so sorry, Ondrej. I’m sorry it worked out this way. I wish I could’ve fought harder. I wish I could’ve been more convincing.”
He laughed then. “Ironic, isn’t it? A few weeks ago, I thought you were the biggest enemy. Now look where we are.”
I shared his laugh if only to mask the small sheen of tears that were picking at the back of my eyes.
“Well, I’ll let you finish packing. Do you—” he hesitated, rubbing his neck nervously. “Will you have one more hot wine with me before you go? Down in the bar? To say goodbye? I’m sure Pavel and Dominika would like to bid you off as well.”
I smiled and nodded. “I would love to. I’m going to take a little walk, and then I’ll meet you down there in a couple of hours?”
He smiled, but it did not reach his eyes.
ChapterThirty-One
I stood alone in the middle of a bustling Prague square, enveloped in the vibrant tapestry of life that swirled around me. Laughter tinkled like chimes in the wind, and the ancient buildings stood as silent sentinels. The beauty of the cityscape, with its old-world charm and cobbled streets, was a stark contrast to the solitude I felt amidst the crowd. It was a poignant reminder of the delicate balance between tradition and the ever-changing present—a balance I'd come to appreciate deeply during my time here.
As I wandered through the iconic spots of Prague, memories washed over me like waves. Mistletoe and hot wine. Snowballs and chilly winterscapes. Witnessing the spires glittering like diamonds in the snow. Each memory tugged at me, highlighting the internal conflict that had been simmering within me—the tug-of-war between my job and the emotional connections I'd unwittingly formed.
